Many vehicles today include stability control systems configured to improve the handling of the vehicle. These stability control systems typically use a reference model for determining a desired yaw plane behavior (e.g., yaw rate) for the vehicle based on certain characteristics of its motion, such as the steering wheel angle and the velocity. The desired yaw plane behavior is then compared to the actual yaw plane behavior for the vehicle to determine whether any stability control measures are necessary.
This method for determining the desired yaw plane behavior for a vehicle may result in imprecise values for vehicles that have multiple settings, modes, and/or configurations (e.g., handling states) that affect the desired yaw plane behavior. For example, a vehicle suspension system may have multiple operational modes (e.g., a “normal” mode and a “performance” mode) that each result in different handling state and desired yaw plane behaviors for the vehicle for a given steering angle and velocity. Vehicle stability control systems that do not account for these different vehicle handling states may produce inaccurate determinations of the desired yaw plane behavior that can result in the activation of vehicle stability control measures at inappropriate times.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method for determining a desired yaw plane behavior for the vehicle that is based on the current handling state of the vehicle. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.